Reset search
Perth to the KimberleyPerth to the Kimberley
SatelliteEdit route

Perth to the Kimberley

April - October 2017
A 177-day adventure by The Gypsies Read more
  • 71footprints
  • 1countries
  • 177days
  • 430photos
  • 12videos
  • 9.8kkilometers
  • 2.1kkilometers
Follow Calendar Share Bucket list
Date ascending
  • The GypsiesPerth to the Kimberley
    1
    111
    Day 14

    Glenn Herring Gorge

    April 26, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    We spent the night in this gorge 24ks south west of Marble Bar. A number of people had commented on Wikicamps that it was worth the drive out. It seemed to take forever to drive out there and on arrival we thought it was a bit of a let down, however it turned out to be absolutely beautiful. Because we arrived late we didn't appreciate where we were, but an early walk in the morning down the gorge was awesome. On the way back into Marble Bar we stopped in at the Old Comet Gold Mine museum near the old mine site. The public are not allowed to enter the mine site, but the museum was really interesting and well worth the visit because of the history of the mine as well as the endless array of mineral rocks and old artefacts on display. The caretaker Gerard was older gent with a Dutch accent but has been an Aussie for more than half his life. He had great charisma and was full of interesting facts.Read more

  • The GypsiesPerth to the Kimberley
    Day 16

    Doolena Gorge

    April 28, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    Yes, we like our gorges (-: This gorge is on the way north towards Port Hedland but only 35ks from Marble Bar. We arrived at a stunning location and saw only a single person camped up a long way to the right of us. The camping area is large and can accomodate quite a few rigs. But the best thing about this spot is the river. It's clear and wide, deep enough for a dip and just gently flowing. There are lots of little fish, not sure what they are but probably silver perch. Too small for catching. We caught up with our washing - thanks girls for the little washing machine - and put the kayaks in for a paddle upstream. It was brilliant! We paddled upstream for about an hour until the water became too shallow. We sat in the water and enjoyed the ambience of the place. We felt like we were where no man has been before. Ha ha our imagination was running wild. We allowed the current to take us back without any effort on our part. Loved it! We arrived on Thursday and left on Sunday. By Friday night it became clear that the place was a favourite with locals, including a large party from Port Hedland who were there to celebrate a friends 40th birthday. They were nice people and we let the kids use the kayaks.Read more

  • The GypsiesPerth to the Kimberley
    2
    111
    Day 18

    Port Hedland

    April 30, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    Arrived at Split Rock camp site, just off the Gt Northern Highway late Sunday afternoon. Nothing there but evidence of past campers. It's not a bad spot, hidden from the road, private and flat. Good for the night. I climbed the rock and took a photo of the truck way down below.
    We were having problems with the freezer not freezing stuff properly so, after asking at the visitor info centre we went to see Stay Kool Refrigeration guys in Port Hedland. Brilliant people and they know their trade well. Freezer working well now.
    We enjoyed looking around Port Hedland. The fish burger and coffee from the Harbour Cafe was excellent. It was fascinating to see the huge ships in the harbour being loaded with ore, and the kilometres long trains coming and going 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The place doesn't sleep. On the way out of town we got held up at a train crossing and the train took just over 5 minutes to pass.
    We stayed in the grounds of the Turf Club for two nights. It serves as an overflow area to the caravan parks. We stocked up with food, fuel and water and left town on Wednesday heading for the De Grey River rest area, which was only about 65ks north of Hedland.    Read more

  • The GypsiesPerth to the Kimberley
    1
    111
    Day 21

    De Grey River rest area

    May 3, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 2 °C

    We spent two nights at the De Grey River rest area. It's a huge area with toilets and bins right along side the river. When we first drove in, all the good spots near the river were taken so we chose a flat shady site a couple of hundred metres from the water. The next morning we had a good look around and saw that we could get down under the bridge and be right at the waters edge, so we moved camp and caught up with washing using water from the river. The main reason for staying here for a couple of days was to make sure the freezer was fixed and performing well. It turned out that we still had issues, but this time with the fridge. So it was back to Stay Kool in Port Hedland after a 5am start on Friday morning. By lunchtime, everything was up and running properly so early afternoon saw us on our way again.Read more

  • The GypsiesPerth to the Kimberley
    1
    1111
    Day 24

    Afghan Well / Stanley Rest Area

    May 6, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    It was well into the afternoon when we left Port Hedland so after looking at Wiki Camps we chose a free camp called Afghan Well about 150 k's to the north. It's just a shady spot amongst trees well off the main rd, no facilities. Perfect for us. There was a lot of hornets hanging around, but harmless unless they felt threatened. Dave got a couple of quick stings because he stood on two of them that were sucking moisture out of a damp towel we had left on the doorstep. Apart from the initial pain in his foot there was no after affects. That's my hero. : -)

    Pizza for lunch!!! It was delicious. A reduced price Coles pizza dolled up with extras and cooked in the fry pan with a lid on. Worked a treat. :-)

    Spent the 6th May in the Stanley rest area on the Gt Northern Hway, about 250 k's south of Broome. Nice spot, set up for people on the road. Basically these rest areas are just flat ground with amenities that consist of a dump point for toilet cassettes and either flushing or composting toilets. Mostly composting. They also have undercover areas with tables and bench seating, picnic style. Sometimes they have gas stoves or wood fired BBQs. They also have rubbish disposal bins at the entrance. Some are "crap" and some are good. Stanley was particularly good.
    It was Dave's birthday so dinner had been planned in advance. We had bought some nice T/Bone steaks in Hedland. So the birthday boy wanted steak, Julie's crunchy potatoes, mushrooms and salad with toasted pepitos, pine nuts, sunflower and sesame seeds AND satay sauce. I made the satay sauce in the morning and toasted up the seed mix. Dinner turned out magnificent!!! And of course we had bought a nice wine to go with it. After dinner we walked over to the undercover area where we met "Uncle Rooster" and 4 German backpackers. Uncle Rooster is a down to earth Aussie with no shirt, almost bare feet (just thongs) and a long white beard. He's had lots of adventures travelling Australia and was a character to listen to. Somehow he met the German backpackers up in Weipa near Cape York and they became firm friends. They've been travelling together for 4 months and are on their way to Cape Leveque and then the the Gibb River Rd. We might run into them again as we are heading in the same direction, but at a much slower pace. The German kids visas run out in 6 weeks, then they have to return home.    Read more

  • The GypsiesPerth to the Kimberley
    1
    111
    Day 25

    Port Smith Caravan Park and Lagoon

    May 7, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    This park is on the coast about 140ks south of Broome. We were given a spot under tall shady trees right opposite the ablution blocks and laundry. These facilities were some of the best we've come across, clean and spacious. The first task for me was to wash the sheets and towels, while Dave did other things including chatting to a few passers by about how the place ticks.
    The Port Smith Lagoon is a tidal lagoon with big tides, therefore at low tide you can walk hundreds of metres out on the exposed sand bank and at high tide you can swim in the lagoon, or go fishing.
    High tide was at around 9am so we drove down and put the kayaks in. I paddled around amongst the mangroves while Dave and Putz (Phoebe) went fishing. After a couple of hours the tide was on its way out, so it was back to the truck for coffee and brunch - a toasted chicken, avocado and cheese sandwich. No luck with the fishing, but we were given a good sized Trevaly by a kind fisherman who goes out in his dingy everyday and has more fish than he needs, at least that's what he told us.
    We spent the following day, Tuesday, doing it all again, but this time Dave came home with the goods! He caught a Black Tailed Bream. By early afternoon it was goodbye Port Smith and we were on our way to Barn Hill Station.    Read more

  • The GypsiesPerth to the Kimberley
    1
    11111
    Day 31

    Willie Creek

    May 13, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    We made an impromptu decision to leave Broome late in the afternoon and made our way to Willie Creek, arriving there in the dark. In the morning we woke to see we were parked above the banks of the creek, it was low tide and the water was 5 or 6 metres metres below the rocky creek bed edge. Later in the morning we watched the tide come in and I was amazed at how quickly it moves. We did a tour of the Willie Creek Pearl Farm a couple of days later and were told that the tide moves in at about 30 kilometres an hour.
    We both tried our hand at fishing and I actually landed three fish, two only good for bait, and one bream big enough for brunch. We stayed here for 4 nights, and caught no more fish, but not for lack of trying!!

    On day two a local girl and two young guys (indigenous )turned up and drove right down onto the beach where it meets the rocks. Between them they caught 4 good sized bream and ate two of them there and then on a little fire they built alongside their 4 x 4 vehicle. They caught them with hand lines baited with squid and just dropped over the edge, no fancy rods or anything.
    Just before they left, one of the guys came over to us with two of the fish scaled and cleaned and asked if we wanted them. Naturally we said yes!!!
    He said they had already eaten two fish and they were happy to show some local generosity.

    The Pearl Farm Tour was pretty good, interesting to learn how a pearl is grown inside an oyster shell. The tour went for about 2 1/2 hours and involved showing us how and where an irritant is placed inside an oyster shell, then the shell is placed in racks and suspended in water in the right environment for about 2 years before a pearl is harvested.
    There was a cruise up and down the creek for as bit of sight seeing and to show us how they hang the oyster racks in the water and check them for cleaning.
    Finally a lesson on how they value the pearls according to the 5 rules, which are Size, Shape, Colour, Complexion and Lustre. One necklace he showed us cost a mere $35,000.    Read more

  • The GypsiesPerth to the Kimberley
    1
    1111
    Day 32

    Barn Hill Station C/V Park

    May 14, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    Barn Hill is situated on Thangoo Station, a working cattle station about 130ks south of Broome and right on the coast. This park is sitting high above the sea on big red sand dunes. We stayed 3 nights and enjoyed the place, but probably wouldn't return. Its a great place for fisherman who have a boat and there is quite a lot of retired people who pre book their spot and come back year after year for months at a time. There was heaps of mosquitos about so we were liberally applying repellant a couple of times a day.
    The beach is the main attraction. To get to the beach you need to walk a fair way along a dusty red track then climb down a wooden ramp and stair case built into the red sand dunes. I got a splinter up my fingernail from the railing and had to grit my teeth while Dave tortured me with pointy tweezers getting it out, a bit of a drama queen I am when it comes to pain. :-)
    We walked on the beach at both high and low tides. At high tide we watched a shark chasing fish and he swam within 30 metres of the shore, where a group of people were swimming. We heard the following day they were virtually beaching themselves while chasing the fish. You wouldn't catch me in there!!!! At low tide we sat in rock pools deep enough to cool down in and did the old grey nomad chat with other couples who were cooling off like us.

    The long term patrons spent a lot of time getting their bowling green ready for the "season". Apparently the long term'res take it quite seriously. Its one of the highlights of their entertainment along with their Sunday roast nights. The " season " starts about 1st June. These long terme'rs have planted veggie gardens, so we gave one of them our thyme, parsley and chives as we kept forgetting to use them. After a couple of days we decided to head towards Broome.    Read more

  • The GypsiesPerth to the Kimberley
    1
    11111
    Day 33

    Broome

    May 15, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    We arrived in Broome mid afternoon and began to understand why people love this place. It has a great feel to it and of course the weather is perfect. The visitor centre was the first port of call to get a town map and other brochures. There is a Horizontal Falls overnight houseboat tour that leaves from Derby which we wanted to do if we could find a place to leave Phoebe. The booking is done here in Broome, so armed with info on the tour and a phone no for the kennel in Derby we drove around the streets nearby until we found "The Roby" pub. Here we had a beer and set up Phoebe's overnight stay in Derby with the kennel owner by phone, before returning to make our booking at the visitor centre. This particular tour is a very popular one and to get the best out of it , you should do it on the highest tide possible. So the earliest we could get was the 30th May. Oh well, plenty of time to look around Broome and the Cape Leveque area.

    Broome is expensive and they don't like dogs, however we loved the place and were surprised at how big and busy it is. Haven't seen so much traffic since leaving Perth!

    Had to have a drink at Zanders overlooking Cable Beach, a beer for Dave and a lemon granita for me. The beach is beautiful and deserves its reputation, and I can see why people would want to spend a long time here.
    During a walk around Chinatown we found the Shady Lane Cafe and stopped here for lunch, Grilled Barramundi, Chips and Salad. Very nice!
    We visited the Port where you used to be able to fish from the very long jetty, but that has now been closed to public access, then a hair cut was in order for me as I was looking pretty wooly hehe. We also went to Bunnings. Who would have thought! A Bunnings in Broome! Dave just had to go and get his Bunnings fix. :-)    Read more

  • The GypsiesPerth to the Kimberley
    1
    1113
    Day 35

    Gnylmarung near Beagle Bay

    May 17, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    After Willie Creek we chose a spot shown on Wikicamps that we thought might suit us. The Gnylmarung Community was established in 1995, and is situated 30 kilometres off the main Cape Leveque Road on the western side of the Dampier Peninsular.

    There is about 20 camping sites, some with an ocean view, others are in shadier areas, and some are in secluded bushland. Wash-up sinks are provided at camp sites, along with good drinking water. Bush bbq's are provided and firewood is available for campfire cooking. There is a boat ramp and dedicated fish cleaning area.`Gnylmarung Retreat has clean ablution blocks with solar heated showers.
    There is also a laundry with a washing machine, and all we ask for is a gold coin donation per load.
    Dogs are welcome. $20 per person per night.

    I cheated with the last paragraph and copied and pasted it from their website. :-)

    In reality it is a very rustic place, with adequate facilities, lots of shade, as much fresh water as you want, a fabulous beach and a very few rules. The hosts Elfonse and Delma are really lovely people who were born and raised in nearby Beagle Bay Community, which we visited on the way here. Beagle Bay is a clean, tidy and "dry" aboriginal community, originally started by Trappist Monk Missionaries around 1890.
    It's late Friday afternoon as I write this and it brings the blog up to date. We plan to stay here for a while longer, just because we can and we love the place. :-). There is no mobile phone coverage, but we can connect to limited wifi.    Read more

  • 2024© FindPenguins
  • Home
  • About us
  • Blog
  • Group Tracking
  • Press
  • Terms
  • Privacy Policy & Cookies
  • Support
  • Legal notice
  • English